APB: Lost Stuffed Animal

Art Eddy
June 24, 2012

Art Eddy

Lives in: Stanhope, NJ
From: Hampton, NH
Birthday: May 6, 1979
Occupation: Stay at Home Dad, Podcast, Writer
Web: http://www.mastersofnone.com
Twitter: @DadatworkNJ

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This past Saturday my wife and I took the girls out and about doing things from strawberry picking to running a few errands. It was a great Saturday. You know the ones like when you go to Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond if you have the time. It was getting near lunchtime and my oldest daughter Lily asked if we could get popcorn chicken at KFC. We were fine with the request so we took them to Colonel Sanders’ house. While we are getting the girls out of the car and walking to the restaurant, my wife points out that sadly some kid must have dropped their stuffed animal in the parking lot. It was Melman, the giraffe from Madagascar. It’s poor and sad eyes looked at me for help. My hands were tied. I had Lily’s hand in one hand and sippy cups in the other hand.

Now if I saw this lonely looking stuffed animal six years ago I would see it and not give it a second thought. Heck if this happened when I was in high school I might have chucked it as far as I could.

Now things are different. I have kids that have stuffed animals they take wherever we go. I know how important these things are for a kid and for parents too. If your kid loses it or drops their animal you know nonstop crying will ensue. Sanity is thrown out the window until the stuffed animal is rescued and back into your child’s grasp.

All through lunch I could not stop thinking about that darn giraffe. Whose was it? Did they know they dropped it? Is the kid incessantly crying for Melman? Did they just purchase it since Madagascar 3 just came out? Will the parents buy a new one for their kid? Will that giraffe even be missed? How dirty is Melman now? (Funny too if you have seen the films and know Melman is a germaphobe.)

I almost got these burning questions out of my head until an employee came into the restaurant with the stuffed animal. Now more questions arose. What will the staff do to Melman? Will they deep fry him? Will they keep him as their mascot? Will they try to make sure this giraffe gets returned back to its rightful owner?

Hopefully that family is not stressing out about Melman as much as I am. Thankfully I did not lose any sleep over this issue. I just know I have been in that situation before. I would be looking up and down the house for Jordan’s cat or Lily’s scarf in the past. Thankfully I found them and order was restored in our house. All you parents know where I am coming from….maybe just not the level of thought I put in for Melman and his owner.

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